Former President Donald Trump pledged Wednesday to “stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon” if reelected.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), apparently aimed at Arab-American voters, Trump said that he would work to achieve “a lasting peace” and “preserve the equal partnership among all Lebanese communities,” a reference to the complex Christian, Muslim, and Druze demography of Lebanon. He did not mention Israel or Hezbollah specifically.
The message came as Trump is attempting to court Arab and Muslim voters in swing states like Michigan. Though Arab and Muslim voters have, in the past, opposed Trump’s pro-Israel policies, there are some who are voting for Trump to punish the Biden-Harris administration for its support — however limited — for Israel’s war in Gaza.
Others in the community, noting that Trump presided during four years of peace in the Middle East, and forged the Abraham Accords between Israel and several Arab and Muslim countries, believe that he can end the ongoing wars — partly because Israel, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, trust him and will listen if he urges compromise.
Several Muslim leaders in Michigan have endorsed Trump, as Breitbart News has reported, partly because they believe that he can end the ongoing wars in the Middle East, as well as in other regions, through dealmaking.
It is also possible that Arab and Muslim leaders sense a political opportunity to shift Trump’s policy, given that mainstream Jewish organizations have treated Trump badly or with indifference, despite his support for Israel.
Trump’s specific appeal to Lebanese American voters could also have unique impact in Michigan, where the Lebanese Christian community has been described as the “granddaddies” of the Arab American community in general.
Domestic politics aside, there is growing evidence Israel is moving toward ending the war in Lebanon anyway. A source told Breitbart News that an acceleration of attacks on Hezbollah, such as on the northeastern Lebanon city of Baalbek, is a sign that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is seeking to defeat Hezbollah quickly in anticipation of a ceasefire. The Times of Israel also reported that the Israeli government decided Wednesday to explore a ceasefire.
One reason Israel may be ready for compromise is that it is winning the war. Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said this week that Hezbollah was down to 20% of its prewar rocket supplies. Its leadership has also been decimated.
Israel’s goal is that residents of its northern cities, Jewish and Arab, be able to return safely to their homes without fear of attack, following Hezbollah’s decision to open fire on those communities last October. Israel’s public demands for a ceasefire are that United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 be enforced, meaning that Hezbollah would have to withdraw from the area between the border and the Litani River, and that its weapons be removed there.
Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed that Israel’s war is with Hezbollah, and not with Lebanon, adding that Israel wants good long-term relations with the Lebanese people as part of broader regional peace based on the Abraham Accords.
Israel had pursued diplomatic efforts, through U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, to resolve the conflict with Hezbollah. The Iran-backed terror group demanded Israel withdraw from Gaza and from its own border with Lebanon, which would have given Hezbollah the opportunity to expand its attacks across all of the Galilee.
After negotiations broke down, Israel decided to accelerate its attacks, and has routed Hezbollah since the “pager” attacks of mid-September.
The conflict has had a heavy human toll, despite Israeli efforts to warn civilians and avoid harm to them. Over a million Lebanese people have been displaced, and thousands have been killed, including some innocent civilians.
Hezbollah deliberately places its weapons and fighters in civilian areas, as well as near United Nations peacekeepers, to deter Israel from attacking them and to inflict diplomatic harm on Israel in the event that Israel decides to do so.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.